EFT for Self-Sabotage

I’ve written about psychological reversal before in my article “What’s Written On Your Walls” and there is an entire week devoted to it in my weight loss course, but the work I’ve been doing lately has simplified it and also driven home the importance of looking more deeply at ways that we might be “reversed”, and why ALL chronic issues need a big focus on overcoming those reversals if you are going to be successful with EFT. There are slightly different definitions of reversals, but in a nutshell, if you consciously, logically want to get over a problem, but your subconscious mind does not want to get over the problem, you are reversed and likely suffering from self-sabotage. You must remember here that our subconscious mind is a MUCH more powerful processor than our conscious mind. In fact, if you were to compare the two as we would compare computer processors, the subconscious mind would be 1 million times more powerful than the conscious mind. Some say 90-95% of the thoughts we think remain only in the domain of the subconscious mind, while all the thoughts you are consciously aware of constitute a measly 5-10%.

Another interesting thing to note about our subconscious mind is that it is largely programmed in childhood. It begins in the last half of fetal development and continues until we are about six or seven years of age. During that time we are little sponges. Everything you see, hear or experience is going unquestioned into your little brain, giving you the data you’ll use for the rest of your life to evaluate EVERYTHING. A child’s mind is predominately in a theta brain wave state, much like being in hypnosis and the conscious, logical mind is relatively undeveloped. That means that everything you see, hear or experience is automatically TRUE because you don’t have any data to evaluate it for it’s truth yet, and it’s also about YOU, because we don’t have the capacity to consider other people’s motives, emotions or why they would behave a certain way. We make a lot of decisions about who we are in that span of time. We also learn about money, sex, food, relationships, friends, our intelligence, what’s safe, what’s not safe, who we are, what we deserve etc. etc. Sounds heavy huh?

Well, here is the good news; EFT has the ability to re-write that old programming and install new programming that will support your adult goals. The beliefs that you developed when you were five about who you are and what you deserve no longer need to have any impact on your life.

So, back to reversals, if you’ve had a problem for more than a few months, and you’ve been actively trying to get over it and can’t, the chances are pretty high that you have some subconscious blocks or reversal going on. If you’ve already been using EFT and it’s not working, or if you are procrastinating and can’t even get yourself to do some EFT on a certain issue, it’s a red-flag for reversal. Self-sabotage always comes from reversal and procrastination is classic self-sabotage.

Here’s how you fix it. First of all, you will need to exert some willpower. I’m not a fan of willpower because it is a tool of the conscious mind, which pales in comparison to the strength of the subconscious mind. If you try to exert willpower to eat healthier for example, it won’t be long until that plan flies out the window due to the subconscious drivers that are TRULY in control of your behaviours. But in this case, we have to rely on willpower a little because it CAN get us to tap, which is the key to overcoming the fears and concerns of the subconscious mind that lead to self-sabotage behaviour. Just do it takes on a whole new meaning in this case. A little tapping goes a long way, and each time you do it, it will be easier to do the next time. It doesn’t take long. If you can force yourself to tap on the reversal twice a day for five days, you will put a HUGE dent in the self-sabotage that would otherwise prevent you from tapping, or worse yet, prevent your tapping from working.

If you’re experienced with EFT, go ahead and do this tapping sequence. If not, watch some videos, do some reading and come back to this.

Tap on the karate chop point and repeat the following 3 times:

Even though I don’t want to get over this problem (you can make it more specific by stating your problem i.e. weight problem, food problem, money problem, back pain, etc.) I deeply and completely love and accept myself completely.

Keep tapping the karate chop point and repeat these phrases, filling in the blanks with whatever may come to mind (don’t judge your answers, some things may seem too simple, illogical, embarrassing or even silly, but you have to remember that we’re dealing with the old subconscious programs here):

Even though it may not be safe to get over this problem because….

Even though I may not deserve to get over this problem because…

Even though I don’t believe I can get over this problem because….

Even though I may not know who I am if I get over this problem…

Even though I can’t get over this problem because…

Even though it will feel strange if I don’t have this problem anymore…

Even though I’m using this problem to rebel against…

For whatever reason, I don’t want to get over this problem…

When you’re finished with that, you need to move on to doing some tapping on the problem itself. Clearing these reversals doesn’t solve the problem, it only removes the blocks you may have to solving the problem, so be sure and follow it up with some regular tapping.

The issues you may uncover with this tapping will mostly likely be numerous and rooted in old belief systems. It is always the intention of an EFT session to release old patterns of thought, vibration or belief that are contributing to our issues. For example, if you’re a woman dealing with a weight issue you might say “even though it may not be safe to get over this problem because men will hit on me”, you need to ask yourself the obvious question of “why doesn’t it feel safe if men hit on me?” “who hit on me in the past that made me feel uncomfortable or icky?”
“what does it mean to me if men hit on me?” Logically you may say to yourself, “are you kidding? That would be fantastic!” but if you’ve ever felt uncomfortable with someone’s eyes on you, it could certainly be a safety issue to your subconscious mind. Your job now is to let it know that it’s okay for men to look at you, and even hit on you. If you don’t like the man, or he makes you feel uncomfortable, you have recourse now as an adult. You can leave, you can tell him to knock it off or you can tell your significant other to beat him up (just kidding, don’t do that), the point is, you’re not a kid anymore and you can handle it, right? It’s all about telling your subconscious mind that and updating it’s programs.

So, if you’ve been sabotaging yourself by not doing your tapping, this is the key to overcoming that issue. Exert some willpower, do this tapping and bask in the power of EFT.

See the tap-along video below that I’ve created to help you overcome Self-Sabotage as well!

Ellie Steele is an EFT Practitioner, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Personal Trainer that specializes in helping her clients overcome the subconscious blocks that lead to self-sabotage, emotional eating and lack of motivation that prevent them from reaching their ideal weight, in both one on one coaching and group programs.